As Neverness to Everness pushes past the Fogden arc, its combat meta is shifting toward specialized team synergies. Version 1.3 set the stage. Now Version 1.4 officially confirms two standout new S-Class Espers: Blackbird and Akane Rin.
Version 1.4 gives you three separate pull decisions: a transformation-focused Psyche carry, a ranged Lakshana carry, or a shot at Lacrimosa on her rerun.
Planning around the Scarborough Fair system means knowing your hard pity thresholds and element coverage. It also means deciding whether an early NTE Riftcrystal top up can help you lock in your targets without overspending.
This guide breaks down the confirmed NTE 1.4 banner lineup and likely phase timing. It analyzes Blackbird's and Akane Rin's combat roles, compares their value for your roster, and outlines practical pull strategies for each phase.
It also covers everything else the official Version 1.4 preview revealed — from the new Pukaland theme park to the second Porsche collaboration.
Update (official): Version 1.4, For Whom the Verses Mourn, is confirmed to launch on September 30, 2026, following the official Preview Special Program.
Blackbird's and Akane Rin's kits, attributes, and roles below come from that broadcast. A few details are still inferred rather than officially stated — we've flagged those clearly.
NTE 1.4 Banner Overview
The official Version 1.4 Preview Special Program confirmed two new limited S-Class characters, plus a returning rerun unit: Blackbird leads the first half of the patch alongside a Lacrimosa rerun, while Akane Rin takes over for the second half.
The table below summarizes the confirmed banner phases, featured characters, elemental attributes, and official battlefield roles for Version 1.4:
One correction worth flagging up front: earlier previews (including our own first pass on this guide) led a lot of players to peg Akane Rin as a support unit. The official broadcast clears this up. She's a Lakshana Main DPS built around ranged, guitar-based burst damage — not a buffer or off-field enabler.
Blackbird, meanwhile, is more than a simple stationary carry. Her kit carries three official tags — Instant Cycle, Main DPS, and DMG Boost — so she also contributes team-wide attack buffs on top of her own damage. We'll unpack both kits in detail below.
NTE 1.4 Release Date and Timeline
Version 1.4, For Whom the Verses Mourn, is officially confirmed to launch on September 30, 2026. The overall patch is expected to run roughly six weeks, split into two banner windows.
Only the launch date itself has been stated outright by the publisher. The mid-patch switch date below is inferred from in-game program end dates, not confirmed on stream.
Here is the release timeline for NTE Version 1.4 and its respective limited character banners:
*The October 21 switch date is not an on-stream announcement. It's inferred: Blackbird's and Lacrimosa's Arc Research Programs end that day, Akane Rin's begins, and the second batch of Pukaland login gifts lands too. Treat it as highly likely, not officially confirmed.
Next, we will break down the confirmed combat profiles of Blackbird and Akane Rin, analyzing their kit mechanics and potential synergies across upcoming team compositions.
Blackbird Banner Analysis
Blackbird Profile & Overview
Blackbird headlines the first half of Version 1.4. The official preview confirmed her as a Psyche-attribute Main DPS carrying three tags: Instant Cycle, Main DPS, and DMG Boost.
Her combat demo showed three things: a five-hit normal attack chain, a charged attack that drastically slows targets, and a skill that marks enemies with a special feather.
When teammates hit a marked target, it triggers Paradise Lost Bird, a coordinated area-of-effect co-attack. So her value isn't purely selfish damage — it also depends on how often teammates land hits on her marks.
Her Ultimate, Requies Animarum, transforms her into the Witch of Deliverance: a high-damage Psyche burst state with crowd-control immunity and a movement speed boost.
The transformation timer pauses while she's off-field, which nudges toward some character swapping rather than pure stationary play. Casting the Ultimate also grants the whole team an attack buff.
Potential Team Compositions for Blackbird
Blackbird's kit depends partly on teammates hitting her feather marks to proc Paradise Lost Bird. So her best team setups will likely focus on high-frequency attackers, plus whatever amplifies her burst window during the Witch of Deliverance transformation.
Important caveat: the preview confirmed the mechanics above, but not damage multipliers, a full Awakening tree, or her Arc weapon's exact effect. No outlet, including this one, can responsibly claim a "best team" yet.
The lineups below are theorycrafting based on known kit behavior, not verified rankings:
These setups suggest Blackbird will likely fit comfortably alongside current support units. Whether she needs heavy signature-weapon investment, or scales well on standard equipment, we can only confirm once her full Awakening tree and Arc weapon are live and tested.
Story-wise, Blackbird's main-story chapter, The Witch, sends her into a new manifested-vision map called St. Arbor — a medieval village built around witch-hunt and sacrificial imagery, a sharp visual departure from Hethereau's neon cityscape.
Her white "Witch of Deliverance" transformation form, previously guessed by the community to be a separate new character, is now confirmed to be Blackbird's own Ultimate form.
Akane Rin Banner Analysis
Akane Rin Profile & Overview
Akane Rin takes over for the second half of Version 1.4, and — contrary to earlier teaser-based speculation — the official preview confirms her as a Lakshana-attribute Main DPS, not a support or off-field enabler.
She fights with an electric guitar. Her normal attack is a four-hit chain that builds Power Chord stacks, and her playing sends out mid-to-long-range slashing waves — she doesn't need to stay in melee range.
Her Byrail Skill applies Overtone to a single target. While Overtone is active, her normal attacks strike that target from range with bonus effects. Using her skill again detonates the empowered Overtone for extra damage.
Her Ultimate, Climax Impact, triggers once her energy gauge is full. She can also pull out the guitar to perform anywhere in the open world — a direct tie to her band storyline.
Potential Team Compositions for Akane Rin
As a ranged Main DPS, Akane Rin will likely want a team that lets her hold field time and keep Overtone active, rather than one built around swapping her out quickly.
Her Lakshana attribute can theoretically pair with Blackbird's Psyche attribute through the game's Stain elemental reaction. But that's just an attribute-compatibility fact — not confirmation that a Blackbird/Akane Rin dual-DPS team is the best use of either character.
Whether it's worth running over a single dedicated hypercarry lineup depends on details neither demo answered. How long do Overtone and Power Chord persist after Akane Rin leaves the field? How often can Blackbird's marks be triggered? Does Stain need a separate trigger unit to go off reliably?
Her side story, To Us, Back Then, continues the Romantic Owls!!!! band arc and fills in more of Akane Rin's backstory.
The Japanese broadcast confirmed a tie-in with The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya's insert song God knows.... The English program only teased a song collaboration without naming it, so expect more detail closer to launch.
Blackbird vs. Akane Rin: Who Should You Pull?
Deciding between Blackbird and Akane Rin means weighing your roster needs, saved resources, and preferred playstyle. Both are confirmed Main DPS units with different ranges and mechanics — this isn't a DPS-vs-support choice.
The comparison below highlights the primary gameplay and value differences between the two Version 1.4 banner units:
Based on these characteristics, here are specific recommendations for different account situations:
- New Players or Accounts Lacking a Main DPS: Either character works as your first S-Class carry. Pick Blackbird for transformation-focused burst tied to the main story, or Akane Rin for a ranged attacker that doesn't need to stand in the boss's face.
- Players with an Established Main DPS Already: Both units are DPS, not support. Adding either one makes sense mainly if you want a second, differently-elemented carry (Psyche or Lakshana) to cover more content — not as a buffer for an existing team.
- F2P and Resource-Limited Players: Wait for the first few days of live testing after September 30. The kit mechanics are confirmed, but real multipliers, Awakening scaling, and Arc-weapon dependency aren't — that data tells you far more than the preview alone.
What Else Is Coming in NTE 1.4?
Version 1.4 adds more than three Limited Boards. The update also opens Pukaland, launches the second Porsche collaboration, introduces several new game modes, and provides free pulls and selector rewards that can affect your banner budget.
Pukaland Theme Park
Pukaland opens as a new island-style amusement park: rides, a first-person haunted house, a garden maze, mine-cart challenges, and arcade-style minigames.
Completing park activities earns event currency. Exchange it for the Paradise Cruise vehicle, the Chocolate Airplane glider, Annulith, upgrade materials, and cosmetic rewards.
Porsche Collaboration Part Two
The second Porsche collaboration adds the 911 Turbo (930) and Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package through new Mystery Boxes. The 918 Spyder Mystery Box also returns, and draw progress from the first collaboration carries over.
The preview did not confirm the total Fons or Annulith cost needed to obtain every vehicle.
New Modes and Activities
Naming note: the preview program described these modes but did not give confirmed English titles for most of them. We've used descriptive names below rather than inventing proper nouns — update with official names once they're announced in-game.
- A 1,000-floor tower challenge (official name unconfirmed) with escalating difficulty every ten floors and stackable combat buffs chosen along the way.
- A 1v1 shooter minigame (official name unconfirmed) in which players alternate between a Shooter role, picking off targets from cover, and a Runner role, dodging and avoiding fire.
- A tower-defense mode (official name unconfirmed) featuring enemy waves, elite/boss enemies, and selectable buffs.
- New Anomaly Commissions: four additional urban-legend cases will be added permanently.
Version 1.4 also introduces wearable accessories, multiplayer support for a new volleyball minigame (official name unconfirmed), a new Puka Membership progression track in City Tycoon, and several quality-of-life improvements.
NTE Version 1.4 Free Rewards
The official program and patch notes confirm the following free resources for Version 1.4:
- Version update login mail: 10 Solid Dice
- Seven-day login campaign: another 10 Solid Dice
- After October 21: 2,000,000 Fons
- A free outfit for Akane Rin, House Special
- Puka Membership Level 15: one S-Class Standard Character Selector
- Puka Membership Level 28: one S-Class Standard Arc Selector
- Puka Membership Level 40: a second S-Class Standard Character Selector
- Free outfits for Haniel, Baicang, and Sakiri
Important clarification: both Character Selectors are for the standard S-Class pool, not a free pick of Blackbird or Akane Rin. Don't let a headline like "free S-Class selector" make you think you can skip pulling for either limited unit.
NTE 1.4 Pull Planning and Resource Math
In Neverness to Everness, a single pull on the Scarborough Fair board costs 160 Annulith, with hard pity capping at 90 pulls (14,400 Annulith). NTE Limited Boards guarantee the featured rate-up S-Class character at pity — no traditional 50/50 off-banner loss risk.
The table below details the expected resource requirements across different player budgets and spending goals:
Because pity carryover ensures that unspent rolls transfer directly to the next Limited Board, any pulls you invest in Version 1.4 will remain productive even if you do not hit the hard cap before a phase concludes.
Factor in the confirmed free 2,000,000 Fons drop after October 21 and the two Solid Dice batches when planning how much of your pull budget needs to come from a top-up versus daily accumulation.
NTE Future Banners After Version 1.4
A necessary caveat before this section: the official Version 1.4 preview did not reveal any Version 1.5 or 1.6 content. Everything below is community roadmap speculation and leaked or datamined material — not officially confirmed.
Treat it as directional interest-tracking, not a planning guarantee, and don't build your Version 1.4 pull budget around any of these names actually appearing on schedule.
The table below outlines the current community roadmap, expected banner phases, and speculative character debuts projected for Versions 1.5 through 1.6:
As the roadmap indicates, Version 1.5 is rumored to heavily expand on the Bureau's E.T.D. 6th Platoon operatives, while Version 1.6 could introduce high-ranking figures like Alphard — but again, none of this was shown in the 1.4 broadcast.
If any of these rumored operatives fit your preferred aesthetic or element better than Blackbird or Akane Rin, setting aside a reserve pity buffer during Version 1.4 is still a reasonable long-term hedge. Just remember it isn't built on official information.
NTE Previous Banners
Summary
Neverness to Everness Version 1.4 launches September 30, 2026. It's far more than a two-character banner cycle: Blackbird (Psyche Main DPS), Akane Rin (Lakshana Main DPS), and a Lacrimosa rerun headline the pull side.
Beyond the banners, expect the full Pukaland theme park, a second Porsche collaboration, a 1,000-floor tower challenge, new PvP-style minigames, and a new City Tycoon progression system.
Both new S-Class units are damage dealers, not a DPS/support pair. Pick based on transformation-burst-versus-ranged preference and story interest — don't assume one must be built around the other.
Review your current pity count across the Scarborough Fair board, identify your roster's most urgent needs, and set a clear pull ceiling. If you find yourself a few rolls short of the guarantee, checking a quick Neverness to Everness top up on GamsGo can help ensure you secure your desired character before the banner cycle concludes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Annulith Do You Need to Guarantee One NTE 1.4 Character?
A Limited Board pull costs 160 Annulith, and the featured S-Class Esper is guaranteed at 90 pulls. From zero pity, that means a full guarantee costs up to 14,400 Annulith. If you already built pity on an earlier Limited Board, your actual cost will be lower.
Does Neverness to Everness Have a 50/50 System?
No. NTE does not use the usual 50/50 loss system on Limited Boards. Once you hit the featured S-Class character, you get the rate-up unit. Board Modification starts after 70 pulls, and hard pity lands at 90 pulls, so planning feels much cleaner than in many gacha games.
Is Akane Rin a Support or a DPS?
She's a Main DPS. Earlier teaser-based coverage — including our own first draft — assumed she'd be a support unit based on her band/idol framing. The official Version 1.4 preview corrected this: she's a Lakshana-attribute ranged attacker built around Power Chord generation and Overtone detonation, not a buffer.
Should You Pull the Character First or Save for the Signature Arc?
For most players, the character comes first. The Arc Research Program uses Tri-Keys, with each key valued at 160 Annulith. A featured S-Class Arc can take up to 80 pulls, or 12,800 Annulith. Character plus Arc can reach 27,200 Annulith from zero pity.
When Does an NTE 1.4 Top-Up Actually Make Sense?
A top-up makes sense when you are close to pity, chasing both Blackbird and Akane Rin, or planning for a character plus Arc. If one character needs up to 14,400 Annulith and character plus Arc can reach 27,200 Annulith, knowing your pull ceiling before spending is the real key.
Which NTE Platforms and Servers Does GamsGo Support?
GamsGo currently lists NTE support for Windows PC, iOS, Android, Mac, Google Play Games on PC, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 5 Pro. Server options include Asia, America, Europe, and SEA. Match the server to your active account so the recharge goes to the right profile.
What Information Do You Need for an NTE Top-Up on GamsGo?
The product page may ask for details such as your Login ID, password, server, character name, UID, and login method. It is worth checking these before checkout, because one wrong UID or server can slow the order down or send the recharge to the wrong account.
Should You Top Up Before Version 1.4 Launch or Wait for Testing?
The Version 1.4 preview has already aired, so this decision no longer needs to wait on a broadcast.
If your target is locked in — Blackbird for transformation-focused burst, Akane Rin for ranged DPS — preparing Riftcrystal ahead of the September 30 launch helps avoid last-minute pressure, especially if you're only a few pulls from the 90-pull guarantee.
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